McCone County Hospital was established in 1923 and McCone County Nursing
Home was established in 1977. McCone County Hospital closed in August
of 1990 and then MCHC became the 1st Medical Assistance Facility (MAF)
in the nation.
On April 1, 2009, MCHC terminated our nursing home license and became
a 25 bed Critical Access Hospital (CAH); which includes utilizing beds
for acute patients and long-term care residents. We are one of the few
"frontier" healthcare facilities in Montana that provides 24 hours a day,
7 days a week emergency coverage with only one Mid-Level Medical Practitioner
available. Prior to April 1, 2009, MCHC had a 30 bed nursing home and
8 bed CAH. MCHC's employed Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) Patti
Wittkopp has worked at our facility as a PA-C since 1990 and as our sole
provider since 1999; and worked as a RN and Director of Nursing at our
hospital prior to becoming a PA-C. Patti treats approximately 20 patients
per day in our clinic; and provides medical services to patients at McCone
Clinic and our CAH. MCHC also has approximately 70 employees.
McCone County is located in a remote section of Eastern Montana. McCone
County is mostly agricultural land and has a population of approximately
1,977 spread over 2,643 square miles. Circle is the county seat and other
towns in McCone County are Vida and Brockway; Circle's population is approximately
644. Distance to the next closest hospital is 50 miles away (Glendive),
but travel time to the nearest tertiary hospital with a Level II Trauma
Center and specialty physicians is 250 miles (Billings).
Our PA-C receives locum relief approximately once a month from PA-C Sandra
Janzen who travels 385 miles one-way (Helena). A pharmacist consultant
from Glasgow (100 miles), a physical therapist from Lindsay (25 miles)
and a dietitian consultant from Glendive provide contracted service to
the CAH. Because of the distance that our locum relief PA-C lives, it
is very difficult to find relief coverage when our sole PA-C is ill, has
a family emergency or wants an unscheduled day off.
MCHC health care services include the following:
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Frontier Critical Access Hospital (CAH) licensed as
a 25-bed CAH. Approximately 21 beds are utilized for long-term care
residents and the remaining 4 beds are utilized for acute patients in
this frontier CAH Swing Bed Program. MCHC also utilizes an additional
2 beds for observation patients.
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McCone Clinic is open 4-1/2 days a week, except on holidays
and is staffed by a PA-C, office nurse and office assistant. During
clinic hours, the PA-C is also responsible for providing care to patients
in the Emergency Department, Acute patients and Long-Term Care residents;
and is usually on-call for over twenty (20) days in a row. Our relief
PA-C is usually scheduled to work four (4) days a month, which includes
a weekend and days our employed PA-C is on vacation, attending educational
workshops or meetings.
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Our Laboratory Department is a full-service laboratory
and managed by a Clinical Lab Scientist. The laboratory is also able
to run diagnostic testing that has been referred from outlying Medical
Practitioners. " Our Radiology Department has licensed X-Ray Technicians
and is capable of providing all x-rays required by other Medical Practitioners
for referral appointments. Also, the department is directly linked to
larger acute care facilities for immediate Radiologist over-reads for
all emergency and trauma cases.
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Adult Day Care is provided through our CAH. This service
allows people to have some relief from caring for their dependant loved
ones.
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Our Mid-Level Medical Practitioners and employees have
made patient and community education a priority; which includes smoking
cessation, diabetic education, community suicide awareness, stroke awareness,
Medicare Part D education and planning.
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The CAH provides IV therapy and treatment services
to local post surgical patients, therefore receiving continued care
close to home.
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We offer local cancer patients the convenience of receiving
selected chemo therapy services at our facility, therefore relieving
them of traveling out-of-town.
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Some medical equipment is loaned out to patients at
no cost.
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We offer telemedicine, which is a direct satellite
link between the patient and their specialized Medical Practitioner.
This allows the patient advanced care without the need for travel. In
addition, telemedicine allows us to provide high quality education to
our staff, Emergency Medical Services and patients without the expense
of travel.
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Charity care is offered through the federal program
Hill-Burton. Eligibility is determined by the federal poverty guidelines.
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Since 2007, we have provided hand sanitation wipes
to area businesses and schools to help reduce the spread of infections.
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We provide a portion of the support service to the
Redwater Valley Ambulance Services.
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Since July 2009, we contract with a Physical Therapist
to provide out-patient services on-site. The Physical Therapist also
provides in-patient services to our acute patients and long-term care
residents.
